Smoking Linked to Alzheimer's

Smoking 'rusts' blood vessels, researchers find

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 3, 2007 4:21 AM CDT

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Smoking Linked to Alzheimer's — A symbolic no-smoking sign is seen on a high-speed ICE train in the main train station in Berlin Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007. Germany's battle against smoking in public places gains ground Saturday when a ban on smoking on trains takes effect, clearing the compartment air but imposing nicotine-deprived... (Associated Press)

If lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and social ostracism aren't enough, here's another good reason to stop smoking: a new study links smoking to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The study, published in the journal Neurology, says that smoking alters the cells of arteries much the same way that metal rusts.

"Smoking increases the risk of stroke, which is also tied to dementia," said a researcher. Certain groups of smokers over the age of 55 were 50 percent more likely to develop dementia and 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's than nonsmokers. (More dementia stories.)

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